Absolute Zero
by TheMadHatter'sMind
Summary: Lauren is on a mission in Russia to bring down the Mafia's main weapons supplier. If that's not hard enough, her relationship with Rat is threatened when Bethany seeks revenge after a disastrous training exercise. Occasional strong language and violence. Main pairing: Lauren x Dante, side pairing: Bethany x Rat.
1. Breaking Point

Hey everyone! This is Yami- it was difficult trying to send my chapters to my editor (who's really busy with her clubs and things and all her commitments) while achieving uploading dates. As much as I'm going to miss being the Yami in YamiJack, this is so the chapters can be uploaded much faster. :) thank you, my fabulous editor, for the corrections you have made so far :) xx

**Breaking Point**

**_Cherub belongs to the masterful mind of Robert Muchamore._**

''BETHANY PARKER! MY _MOTHER_ COULD RUN FASTER THAN YOU AND SHE'S DEAD!' James's voice echoed off the high stone walls that the black shirts were running alongside of. Bethany scowled at James, who in turn shot her a confident, cocky look then turned around to face his sister.

''What's wrong Lauren? Is it really that bad having your brother as a boss?'' Lauren shot a sideways glance at James who sported the trademark white shirt of a training instructor. And boy did he have the attitude for it. Grimacing, Lauren decided she would ignore the latest remark about their mother.

''Aww, what's wrong Lauren? Did I make you sad?'' Lauren knew her brother was just trying to get a reaction (as usual) so he could find another way to make use of his authority and have her doing some form of punishment, but that didn't stop her from getting angry. Every time. The words 'shut up asshole' could've probably been heard from a mile away as Lauren turned to give James the most vicious look she could despite sweating and panting from a long early-morning run. Even though her best friend, Bethany, was in front of her, Lauren could almost _feel_ her smile.

After another three miles of running, the black shirts had finally made their way up the steep hill that was located thirty minutes away from the CHERUB campus.

''Alright everybody. You had better start building your shelters before it starts raining, otherwise you'll fail. Also, if your tent doesn't survive the night, you'll fail as well. Good luck!'' As James walked away, Bethany went over to Lauren, her steps heavy from the morning's exercise.

''Your brother's a _dick, _Lauren. What the hell is his problem?'' Even though Lauren privately agreed with her best friend's statement, it still made her uncomfortable when James was insulted in front of her. Instead, she just said ''Well... Let's just start with that tent, okay?''

It took Bethany and Lauren an hour and a half to finally settle down with their tent. The entire group had been put into pairs and were told to find a suitable space to camp for what promised to be a stormy night. The girls had found a clearing on the other side of the hill where it was flat enough to erect a makeshift tent of some kind. The only problem was that there were no trees to provide natural shelter from the rain which was beginning to fall and, despite Lauren's best attempts to convince Bethany that they needed a sturdier shelter to cope with the brewing storm; they still ended up with a small, flimsy tri-pod based tent. After another hour of trying (and failing) to make a fire, the girls decided to get some rest.

Lauren looked towards the tent Bethany had insisted on making. It was tiny, and looked like it could fall over any second. Just as Lauren was going to question Bethany's interesting choice in camp for the thousandth time that evening, a familiar voice rang out loudly through the clearing.

''Hey! How's my favourite baby sister and her..._ friend_.'' Lauren always resented the way her brother addressed her best friend. And yet, at the same time, it hardly bothered her.

''What do you want _James_?'' The words left Bethany's mouth as though she was spitting venom. In a way, she was. James rolled his eyes; he had long become immune to Bethany's little tantrums. As he turned his head to taunt Lauren once more, he caught sight of the pair's attempt at a tent.

''What the _heck_ is _that_?'' He said, laughter in his voice as he pointed an accusing finger towards the offensive pile of plastic, leaves and sticks. ''That,'' he continued, ''Will _never_ survive the night. In fact, it's a miracle that it's survived up until now. Whose crap idea was this? Wait. Let me guess. Perhaps it was the self-obsessed, overly confident little...''

''JAMES! I don't care what the_ FUCK_ you think, okay? The tent's _fine_! Piss off!'' By this point, all reason had left Bethany's head, her face going a peculiar shade of red. The type of red you see when children don't get their way.

''Bethany, please. See some reason. Look at that thing. It nearly collapsed when you shouted just then.''

''Go _away_, James.'' Lauren knew the situation could only escalate and would probably leave her having to listen to Bethany bitch about her brother all night, a prospect that Lauren reckoned was less than inviting.

''You know what? Fine. What do I, the_ instructor_, know anyway? I mean, look at that thing! I'd totally feel safe sleeping in that.'' With that, James turned his back to the two girls and kicked out his heel backwards into the flimsy supports. The two girls held their breath as the tent wobbled back and forth for several heart stopping moments. Just as they thought it would be safe, the whole tent shuddered and shook before falling to the ground in a mess of string and twigs.

''Whoops. My bad! Good luck with that, Lauren, Bethabitch.'' After he had nodded in each of their directions in a mockingly polite way, James began to make his way back up the hill, presumably to where he had set up camp. _'A stronger, better camp'_ Lauren thought as she looked over to where her best friend was kneeling on the sodden ground and was just beginning to tidy up the mess that was once their tent.

''What are we going to do, Beth?'' Bethany looked up sharply, and then proceeded to get up and point her finger in Lauren's confused face.

''This is _your_ fault, Adams. You just let your_ bastard_ brother waltz over here, insult me, destroy our shelter then walk away? What's _wrong_ with you, Lauren? I thought we were friends.'' With that, Lauren snapped. She felt her face flush, her chest tighten, and her head go slightly delirious.

''Guess what? James was_ right_. That's why you're so pissed off. We both know that stupid tent wouldn't have been able to fit both of us, let alone survive a fucking storm! What's wrong with you, Bethany? You're supposed to be a CHERUB, not a selfish, immature, ignorant...''

Lauren couldn't finish her sentence. She was interrupted by a literal slap in the face. The sharp sound resonated around the two furious girls before Bethany stormed off down the hill, leaving Lauren alone, with a pile of sticks and plastic. The sun had set just before James had come to check on them and without shelter, Lauren would not only be unable to sleep, but she would fail the test too. The rest of Lauren's evening consisted of her trying to build a sturdier tent, despite the rain and darkness.

''GET UP!'' Lauren's eyes shot open as her brother's familiar booming voice shattered her well needed rest. ''I expected more of you two. You were supposed to be up half an hour ago. But since you have such a nice shelter, I'll forgive you. Even you, _Parker_.'' Parker?

''OW!'' Bethany snapped as something that resembled a muddy combat boot kicked her. ''I'm _awake_, James!'' As Lauren turned over, she saw her. The familiar brown mop of messy hair, the tanned skin, the slightly muddy and scratched,_ Bethany_. Lauren leapt up to get a better look at the situation. After about a minute Lauren was filled with rage for the third time that training session. Bethany had come up the hill in the night, and gone into the shelter. _Her_ shelter. She couldn't believe it.

Lauren frowned, an obvious line showed, formed from years of being surrounded by people she had deemed less intelligent than her. "Good morning,_ Bethany_. Did you have a lovely sleep? So, mind telling me what the _FUCK_ you're doing in_ MY_ shelter? Do you have_ any_ idea how much time it took me to make that? While you were off moping somewhere, I was actually _working_. Then you sneak up here like the bitch you are and try to take credit? What's wrong with you?'' Tears ran down Lauren's dirtied face as her best friend started to get up, rubbing her head where James had kicked her. ''If you didn't want me to sleep in it, why did you make it big enough for two people? Or are you trying to tell me that all our years of friendship vanished after that one little argument? We're on a fucking _training_ exercise. I was _exhausted_ and _starving_. You can't blame me for how I acted!'' Lauren blinked, considering this, but something about the way Bethany was trying to keep a straight face gave Lauren the confidence she needed. ''You think you can trick me, Bethany? I know you're good at twisting words. Well, maybe I _don't_ consider you my friend anymore!''


	2. Joy of Joys

**JOY OF JOYS**

_**CHERUB is a product belonging to the masterful brain of Robert Muchamore.**_

The air was tense back at the CHERUB campus. Awkward glances were exchanged from one sullen face to another. The only person who seemed to be actually_ enjoying _the atmosphere was James. He was ecstatic. When Lauren told him what happened with her and Bethany, he had nearly woken up the entire block with his shouts. The others, however, were struggling with the break up. Dante had decided that his loyalties were with Lauren and had comforted her when Bethany started rumors about her and when some of her other friends had ignored her. Rat, however, was less supportive.

Finally, Lauren took him aside and started to pour out all her feelings. ''I thought you loved me. I think you _do _love me. But every time I try and talk to you, it's like I'm boring or wrong! I just need you to understand that Bethany was a total bitch to me! So why are you still nice to her? I saw you helping her with homework. Why would you _do_ that Rat?''

He rolled his eyes and shrugged. ''I don't know, Lauren. Maybe because you guys have fought before and then the next day you're best friends and all over each other again. Maybe because I don't think she was cruel to you. Maybe because I _don't care_? I don't want to get involved in this.'' After he had finished, Rat walked away- leaving Lauren, mouth open, to stand there.

''Could Lauren Adams please make her way over to the Mission Control room?'' Lauren looked up from the Russian quiz she had been struggling to complete for the last age of her life. Getting up, she couldn't help but wonder what her mission might be. No matter how many years she spent at CHERUB, Lauren always found herself walking a little quicker that usual when going to the mission controls room. She suspected this had more to do with the various punishments that could be handed out than it was too do with excitement about a new mission. But this time, Lauren jolted to a stop. _Bethany_. Her ex-best friend stood in the corridor, chatting happily with Rat._ 'Traitor' _she thought before Rat's brown eyes caught her own.

''Hey, Lauren. You on this mission too?'' How could he be so nonchalant when everyone else around them was so tense? ''You'd better stop scowling, Lauren. You'll ruin that pretty little face of yours.''

''Lay off, Bethany.'' Dante's voice startled Lauren as he came up behind her. Was he on the mission too? Looking at the three familiar faces around her, Lauren quickly came to the conclusion that it was a joke, thought up by James to torment her. Or maybe they had to apologize to each other like the red-shirts did when they were fighting? Either way, she couldn't be going on a mission with..._her._

''Come in.'' Zara sat at the head of a long oak table, holding four identical booklets with the words 'Top Secret' written on each. ''I'm sure you've all figured it out by now, but you're being sent on a mission." There went all of Lauren's theories. "The reason you four have been chosen is due to your ability to work together, and Lauren's ability to speak Russian.''

''Wait. We're going to Russia? But the rest of us can't-''

''I am fully aware of each of your linguistics abilities. The mission is not for another month, and in that time, each of you will undergo rigorous training. If you choose to accept the mission, your schedules will be as so.'' Lauren looked at the piece of paper in front of her. As she did so, her heart sank.

Wake up: 7:00

Breakfast: 7:30

Russian: 8:00-9:30

Fitness: 9:35-10:35

Break: 10:40-11:00

Russian: 11:05-12:05

Lunch: 12:10-12:40

Russian: 12:45-14:00

Fitness: 14:05-16:00

Break: 16:05-16:30

Russian: 16:35-17:35

Homework and free time: 17:40-18:00

Dinner: 18:05-18:40

Russian: 18:45-19:30

Homework and free time: 19:30-22:25

Sleep: 22:30

Six hours of Russian per _day_? ''Now, I know all this may sound like a lot of hard work...''

''So you're saying it's not? That's good. For a minute I thought you were trying to work us like slaves. I guess that's not the case then. What a relief.'' Rat was sitting in his usual slack position, legs crossed and eyes closed as he tipped his chair back and forth.

''Very funny, Gregory Rathbone.'' Lauren couldn't help but smile when she saw him twitch with annoyance with his full name. ''Anyway'' Zara continued, ''You may think that there must be other CHERUBs more suited to this mission, but the friendship between you all will be vital when you're dealing with sub-zero temperatures and the Russian Mafia.''

''_Russian_ Mafia?''

''If I could ask you all to read the summary...''

_March 17th 1992_

_Martin Slatkin travels from Kotlas to Vorkuta carrying dangerous Class-A drugs and artillery. Over the last decade Slatkin had earned over 485,000,000 Russian Rubles by supplying guns, bombs and other weapons to the Russian Mafia. On that particular Tuesday, a meeting scheduled in Yakutsk was to be held by the most important people in the Mafia to discuss allies and enemies. Dmitri Belova, a 54-year-old sailor, was deemed a spy, and murdered during the meeting. Slatkin would find Belova's family and recruit his eldest son, Iakov, who was later reported missing after a drugs scandal. If any information on Iakov can be obtained, call Mission Controls immediately._

_By using the desperation of the financially stricken Russian people, this particular group in the Russian Mafia had expanded from the four men who had started it all to hundreds. Over the next two decades, more than 1000 men, women and children were killed in events directly or indirectly organized by Slatkin. Today, he lives in a large estate with his third wife and five children._

_Lauren Adams and Dante Welsh will enter the local school where twins Nina and Feodor and their younger sister Milena attend as half Russian, half English siblings, names Eva and Isaak respectively. Bethany Parker and Gregory Rathbone will join a school slightly further away to gain access to other Slatkin siblings. They will go by the names Alisa and Maxim, who will be half-Russian, half-American. Bethany Parker will act as Lauren and Dante's half-sister, along with Gregory Rathbone, who shares a similar skin and hair color. Dante Welsh will be Lauren Adams' twin brother. Elizabeth Donald, an FBI agent, will act as the four agents' mother, Larisa. She will be Rat and Bethany's real mother and a stepmother to the other agents. The family story will be as follows;_

_Karen Gordieva, an English woman who met Rurik during a business trip, was unable to become pregnant after several years. Rurik took on a concubine, Larisa, who concieved Maxim and then Alisa a year later. Still married to Karen, he took in Larisa and their two children, now one and two. Karen did all she could to become pregnant for fear that she would be divorced. After a few months of taking medication, she finally became pregnant with Eva and Isaak, twins, but passed away shortly after their second birthday. Karen's children have a relatively good relationship with Larisa despite their parents' history but the topic of illegitimate children and forced pregnancy causes disputes among the four children. _

_Lauren's job is to become Milena's best friend by protecting her from the bullies in her class and various members of Slatkin's gang and other gangs. Lauren must also try and become friends with the female twin; Nina, 15. Bethany will try and become 16 year old Vadik's girlfriend while Dante must befriend 15 year old twins Feodor and Nina. Rat will be placed in the same year and class as Roza, 17, and must attemp to beome part of her crowd at school and out of school. Both Roza and Vadik go to a different school to their three younger siblings so the CHERUB agents will be apart. It must be taken note that all children come from the second wife, and so do not have a very good relationship with their 29 year old stepmother, Evgeniya. Vadik and Roza do not have a good relationship with their twin siblings but Roza is very protective of Milena. Rat should thank should aim to exploit the older siblings' confidence by projecting themselves as superior to their own younger twin siblings. Yosyp Kazakov, who will be known as Rurik Gordieva, will try and secure Martins trust and will initiate trade between his gang and his 'gang' back in England. Slatkin will be keen to broaden his business, but will also be very suspicious so necessary cautions must be undergone. It is essential that all four agents are fully fluent in Russian, as they will have to deal with the new culture and be fully alert to any information that may be available. All agents are advised to avoid drugs and alcohol for safety reasons. Any agent caught taking Class-A drugs will be kicked out of CHERUB._

"I'm being put a year above?" Rat stated, eyes flicking up to catch Zara's.

"We feel as though you would be capable."

Rat smirked and shot an obnoxious glance to Dante, who was sulking about having to act a year younger than actual age. What made the situation even more degrading was that Rat was two years older.

Zara continued, addressing Rat and Betany; "Roza and Vadik go to a school slightly out of town. There are many bars and clubs near the school and the two siblings are often seen frequenting them. If either of you can get inside, be sure to place recording devices in case important business is discussed. There's one in particular that looks important."

Zara waved a lazy hand in Rat's general direction as she dug around in a drawer. After a couple of awkwardly silent seconds, she placed a file of photos on the table and passed them across. "About two hundred yards down from the school is a bar where people who are interested in either buying or selling drugs go to do business. The two siblings are often seen going in, and are treated like regulars. Rat, I want you to try and get a job there, as anything. It doesn't matter, as long as they trust you enough to allow you to wander around the place. Bethany, it may be too dangerous for you to work there, but try to accompany Vadik as much as possible. The two of you must be careful. An undercover FBI agent was murdered after he started acting a little too inquisitive."

"With all due respect, I doubt the FBI agent had the training and skills _I _have." Rat answered as Lauren skimmed over the details of the mission.

"How old is Milena?"

"She's fourteen." Zara answered. "She was put up a year due to her outstanding work and achievements. She gets bullied sometimes, so Lauren, I want you to make friends with her, and try to stop the bullying. I feel as if that is the best way to try and gain her trust."

"Why doesn't Dante do it, seeing that he's the guy?" Lauren shot a stern look at Bethany, who had her arm too close to Rat's leg for Lauren to be comfortable.

"Milena has a fear of men. She inherited her late mother's beauty but lacks Roza's confidence and fighting skills. When she was very young, a rival gang kidnapped her for a ransom. We don't have the details, but I'm sure you can all guess what happened." A shiver went down Lauren's spine as she thought what Milena had to go through when she was still so young.

"If everyone accepts the mission, the training will start immediately." Lauren looked around the room. She didn't have any technical reasons for refusing the mission, but a part of her was screaming that this was a bad idea. Especially since Bethany and Rat would be together most of the time.

"I'll do it." Lauren looked over at Rat, who was resting his head on his arms.

"Me too", Bethany added, smiling at Rat. Lauren winced slightly at the obvious flirting, but at least Rat didn't look like he was responding.

"I'll go." Lauren and Dante said, in perfect unison. The two of them looked at each other and began to laugh. "Perfect!" Zara replied, "And, if you go now, it looks like you'll all be in time for a Russian lesson."

Rat rolled his eyes and groaned.

"Joy of joys."


	3. Busted

**Busted**

**_Cherub belongs to the masterful mind of Rovert Muchamore._  
**

**NB: Добрый день means "Good Afternoon" in Russian.**

"What's been up with you lately?" Rat was standing by his desk, sorting through the mess to try and find his misplaced Russian homework when Bethany, who was sitting on his bed, asked her question. She looked up at him, her over-done make-up shimmering in the sunlight.

"Nothing's up. I'm just tired. Miss Kautsky's given us way too much Russian. I've been staying up until, like, midnight…" Bethany stood and walked over to the desk and began staring at Rat's face. "What the fuck are you doing?" He asked her as she traced her finger around a textbook.

"I'm _bored_."

"Haven't you made up with Lauren yet?" Bethany pulled a face. "Why should I bother? She _completely_ overreacted. I mean, we were best friends and then all of a sudden she and her shitface brother are allies against me. And you know how these things are, we always row and stuff."

"Fascinating. Please _do_ go on."

"And then she starts yelling at me for no good reason. Then she hates me. Then of course Dante has to hate me as well, and I _know_ it's because she bitc-"

"For the love of God, shut the fuck up. _Please_. That was _sarcasm. _For the love of my sanity, stop this profanity." Bethany had no idea whether to laugh or to cry. Did Rat just... rhyme? The teenage boy turned towards the obviously confused girl and told her to piss off before turning back to his desk. Bethany drew in a long breath before walking away. Rat jumped at the sound of his door being slammed shut.

"Women."

Bethany stormed down the hallways towards Dante's room. If she couldn't work her charm on Rat, then Dante was her only other option. She knocked on the door while trying to calm herself down. As she heard footsteps, Bethany went into her automatic 'flirt' mode, equipped with a huge, flashing smile, which was usually saved for older, hotter guys.

"Hi Dante!"

_Slam_. Bethany stood motionless, staring at the door that had recently re-entered her view. "Assholes!" she hissed under her breath as she checked her watch. Seeing as though there was only twenty minutes left of her dinner break, Bethany headed to the canteen. She sat with a bunch of Lauren's friends and quickly regained her confidence chatting among them. A couple of minutes later, Rat set his tray down beside her, much to the shock of Lauren, who was sitting with Dante and her brother's friends.

"Добрый день! Now, let us start ze lesson."

"Yay." Rat muttered under his breath. The room was poorly lit, small and had four desks facing an old-fashioned chalkboard. The walls and ceiling were painted a muddy green and the carpet looks as though it had been white once, when time began. The four CHERUBs were tested every second day on hundreds of Russian words and grammar. After the tedious class, Lauren went to the back of the building to the drinks' dispensers. When she was out of sight, Dante confronted Rat.

"Look, I don't know what the _hell_ is going through your thick skull but you're being an arsehole." Rat, who was slightly shorter than Dante, turned around and looked into the redhead's eyes.

"I'll have you _know_, I'm a genius with an IQ of 196. So, I'm _not _stupid, thanks. And I don't want YOU" Rat prodded his finger into Dante's chest as he spat out his last attack, "to tell _me_ how to treat _my_ girlfriend." Bethany stood alone at the side of the argument until the other few CHERUBs who were walking the corridors began to take notice. There was a full minute of silence where Dante merely stared at Rat, and the other way round.

"Is that all you had to say to me you ginger prick?" Dante snapped. He curled his fist into a right ball and threw his anger filled punch.

"HOW ABOUT THIS YOU AUSSIE BASTARD!" Rat didn't have time to fully dodge the assault, and he crashed into the lockers behind him with a metallic thud. Immediately, the observers from the other end of the hall rushed forwards to see what was going to happen next. Meanwhile, Bethany slipped away towards the drink dispensers. She met Lauren, who was carrying two diet cokes near the math's classrooms. "Looks like your boyfriend can't control his anger issues."

"You mean Rat?"

"No. Dante." Lauren froze instantly. _'Shit.'_ She thought. _'Shit!' _Still holding the cokes, she sprinted back to the Languages Department, just in time to see Rat kick Dante in the stomach with a powerful karate move.

"Stop! _STOP!_" Lauren dropped her drinks and pushed aside the twenty-strong crowd in her attempts to reach the fight. Finally, she stood facing the two; who were both in boxing positions, their bodies low to the ground with their fists bunched up near their chests. In the same instant they both leapt up towards each other. Lauren knew she could only stop either her best friend or her boyfriend from getting hurt. Lauren quickly stepped forward and rammed into Dante, whose fist flew through air and hit nothing. Rat's attack still connected with Dante's arm and his yells alerted James, who was getting suspicious at the level of noise emanating from the usually quiet part of the building. As he started walking towards the noise, Dante stood up, shocked.

"I'm so sorry Dante! But Rat's still my boyfriend you know?"

"You're an _idiot!"_

"Well done for stating the bloody obvious, Dante." Rat stated, running his hand through his messy hair as he gave his girlfriend an unusually hostile look. Lauren couldn't believe it. She helped him and now he's insulting her? After being a dick for the last month? Lauren drew in a frantic breath as she lunged at Rat.

"JUST _DIE _WHY DON'T YOU? I _HATE_ YOU! FUCKING PRICK!" Tears stained her flushed face, her movements frantic, her breath erratic, her thoughts paused. "Leave this dickhead to me." Dante said, putting a firm hand on Lauren's shaking shoulder. He threw himself at Rat, who was smiling; laughing at them. He tried to dodge the manic punch, but Dante quickly changed position and tripped his opposition up. Lauren stepped forward and kneed Rat in the face as he fell towards her feet. As he fell to the floor, bloodied, James' loud shout boomed out over the crowd. "WHAT THE _FUCK _IS GOING ON?"


	4. Spark

**Spark**

_**All credit goes to Robert Muchamore, who not only invented CHERUB, but invented whatever else he invented.**_

Zara was absolutely furious. She sat the three CHERUBs down in front of her with Bethany and James standing to the side of her desk. The Chairwoman sighed and raised her hands in frustration.

"It hasn't even been a month. What on _earth _could have been so important?" Dante opened his mouth to explain but Zara wasn't in the mood. "I've asked these two all about what happened." She pointed at Bethany and James. Lauren's heart sank as Zara carried on ranting. If Bethany had been asked, then there wasn't much hope left.

"You can't keep fighting over stupid things, especially when you're in Russia. You'll both write an apology to Rat and you'll do ditch duty for a fortnight."

"That's not fair!"

"I don't want to hear it Dante! Get out. You can start now." The five CHERUBs promptly left the office silently. But the quiet didn't last.

"Why the fuck did we get punished instead of you?" Dante hissed at Rat, who merely shrugged. Lauren was incandescent with rage at this point and lashed out at Dante.

"Because _you_ started fighting!" Dante laughed sarcastically as he said, "So this is _my _fault."

"Well, I didn't do anything, so yeah. It is _Dante._" James stepped in between with a deep frown plastered over his forehead. "Look, there's no point in arguing, since the _two _of you areat fault. I saw you _both _fighting this" he pointed at Rat, "and that's _all _I saw." With that the white shirt strode away in the general direction of 18-year-old Kerry's room. When he was out of sight, Bethany spoke up. "It's a shame you know. But I guess that's what happens when you have to work with amateurs."

"Just go to hell!" Lauren spat.

"Oh, you _will._" With one last death glare Bethany walked past Dante and Lauren, with Rat close behind. "Never knew you could be such a bitch." Lauren bit her lip. She couldn't move. If she did, she'd probably just freak out again. Dante saw her go red and tears form in her grey-blue eyes. He put his arm around her and tried to comfort her, but he had made the mistake of misreading her emotions.

"I'm _not_ fucking upset!" Lauren yelled as she threw a forceful shove at Dante before storming off. It shouldn't have hurt too much, but Lauren had accidentally hit him in the exact same place Rat had when they were fighting. He gripped his arm and cursed under his breath as he promptly made his way to the nurse's office.

It had been more than a week since the argument and things had not gotten any better. Rat and Bethany were starting to look like they were good friends and Lauren still hated the universe and all its inhabitants; not the mention objects. She woke up late and proceeded to produce a string of obscenities directed at her alarm clock that would have made Gordon Ramsey proud. The rest of her morning consisted of her skipping breakfast, failing a Russian test, walking into a door and stubbing her toe. She considered thinking that her day couldn't get any worse, but really that was just tempting fate, and Lauren didn't have the best relationship with luck at the moment.

Dante had made the conscious effort to stay out of Lauren's way after she lashed out at a punching bag and kicked it out of the ceiling. They had been working silently in the ditches from six thirty to ten in the evening, which put a huge strain on Dante's injury meaning that it wasn't healing properly. He had just finished getting into his mud-crusted jeans and stained t-shirt and was jogging across the hall to the other side of the building. He crossed the large playing fields and came to the other side of CHERUB campus. There were huge concrete walls shadowing the soggy ground where Lauren was already in the meter deep ditch. She carried on shoveling at the filth when Dante jumped in with a sickening squelch.

"You're late."

"Sorry."

Silence returned to the pit as the shouts and cheering of the other CHERUBs playing sports echoed through the humid but cold air. Dante looked towards the girl opposite him. They had been ignoring each other for ages over hardly anything, and he was sick of it

"Look, sorry. I was a dick, you know? I didn't mean to drag you into this, I swear." He paused. "Can we stop fighting and start talking again?" Lauren stopped hacking at a stubborn piece of earth like it had personally insulted her and turned to face her scruffy looking friend.

"Sure." She said, beaming.

The two of them worked for another hour and a half before the light drizzle that they had been complaining about turned into a fully-fledged storm. As the first golden streak severed the sinister in two, the CHERUBs decided to make a break for it. Lauren was fairly nimble and jumped out of the ditch without too much difficulty. For Dante and his injury, this was a harder process. The already wet ground had turned to the mud equivalent of quicksand as he struggled to pull himself out. Lauren noticed his face scrunch up in pain every time he used his right arm, so she bent down to help him as she asked what was wrong.

"Nothing." Dante yelled over the wind. "There's a shed-thing about 100 meters from here. It should be open. We can't go under one of those." He pointed towards a tall tree as he stood up after finally hauling himself up. They began running across the marshy land towards the shadowy hut in the distance. The groaning sound of thunder shook Lauren as adrenaline jolted through her entire body.

They reached the shed and quickly went inside. The interior was about as glamorous as the ditch. Rusted tools hung beside various size of insect infested rope, which had been secured to the wall with large hooks. The huge steel framed window gave a view of the rainy scenery, obscured by layers of silvery-grey spiders' webs. Water was filtering through the many holes in the ceiling so Lauren and Dante huddled against the wall facing the window. Their hot frantic breath rose in the freezing air as they talked.

"Why were you making that face earlier?"

Dante looked over at Lauren who was fiddling with a broken piece of pottery.

"It's nothing really. Just a sprain or something."

"How did you get it?" Dante paused awkwardly. "Is it my fault?"

Lauren looked towards him guiltily as she carried on explaining. "Because I pushed you out of the way when you and Rat were fighting. He hit you on the arm didn't he?"

Dante nodded. "And when I pushed you outside Zara's office..." _'She remembered that?' _Lauren sighed. Lauren leant over and rested her forehead against his right shoulder. "I'm really sorry." _'Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Calm yourself Dante. Fuuuck! Why's she acting so cute? Ignore it. Good. Nothing's happening. She's just your friend. Just my friend.' _Dante listened to his heartbeat over the lashing rain and wind. _'Fuck.' _He thought. _'I like her.' _Dante had his arm resting on the floor next to Lauren and his body turned to lead as he tried to talk himself into putting it around her.

Lauren sat in silence for another couple of minutes with Dante, who was completely rigid at this point. Just as Lauren was about to speak, a huge erratic spark flew across the sky with an immense resonance. Dante seized his opportunity. He leant over, placed his left hand on Lauren's cheek; turning her head, and kissed her. Despite it being a light, cautious kiss, it still rendered Lauren unable to think. Suddenly, she pulled away.

"I have a boyfriend." She said feebly, as though she was trying to convince herself. "Yeah, but he's an _arsehole!_" "He's my boyfriend." She repeated, staring at the ground. "But..."

"I'm sorry!" Lauren made for the door and ran across the deserted expanse. She passed the ditches, then the recently abandoned playing fields, and finally the sports hall and fountain. Lauren kicked open the double doors in front of her and rammed her back into the lockers. She couldn't think at all. After a few minutes of mental torture, Lauren sat down and wrapped her arms around her shaking body. "I'm just cold." She told herself as tears streaked down her muddy cheeks.

"Just cold. Cold. That's all."

"_Lauren?_" Bethany stood at the far end of the corridor holding a Russian textbook and looking very confused. She walked over to Lauren and sat down beside her, putting a warm arm around trembling shoulders.

"I know that we've been fighting but I'm still your friend, ok? What's wrong?" After a pause Bethany added, "You can trust me." Lauren nodded then proceeded to pour out every detail of what had happened to her that evening. The ditch, the thunder, the shed, Dante's injury, the lightning, the kiss. _Her_ kiss. She wouldn't ordinarily, but the stress of the last two weeks had got to her.

Bethany rubbed Lauren's back and gave her sympathetic looks before smiling and saying. "Let's get you back to your room. We don't want you getting a cold." The two girls headed towards Lauren's room on the sixth floor and when they got out of the lift, Lauren turned to Bethany and explained that she was fine and could walk to her room on her own. "Are you sure? Do you want me to stay with you? I don't mind, really."

"It's ok Bethany, but thanks."

"Anytime."

As Lauren walked away, Bethany pressed the seventh floor button and headed across the hallway. Rat was still up working on his Russian essay when he heard the knock on his door.

"Piss off Bethany. You can't copy my stuff."

"It's not about that." She said with a smirk.

"I don't wanna know."

"Trust me, you'll want to hear _this_."


	5. Airborne

**Airborne**

**_All credit goes to Robert Muchamore who invented all that is CHERUB._  
**

**TN: Ублюдки means 'bastards'.**

"Would all passengers boarding the 2:15 flight to Kotlas, Russia, please go to gate 45, I repeat, would all passengers boarding the 2:15 flight to Kotlas, Russia, please go to gate 45."

Lauren looked up from her book and glanced towards the five exhausted people she was travelling with. They had woken up at 11pm after hardly any sleep to depart at Luton Airport. Elizabeth, who was a relatively young woman with a face that was almost very beautiful, was on the phone to Zara. Kazakov, on the other hand, was as terrorising as ever. His grey-black hair barely covered scars and his forehead was covered with frown lines as deep as his gravelly voice.

"You heard the announcer woman!" he growled.

"Stop listening to your pathetic music about girls and sex and hurry up! In the war, no, we _never_ had anything like the luxuries you're used to! Selfish kids like you would've died!"

Elizabeth cut in before the scruffy man started on the long rant they had all heard before.

"Let's just go."

The six walked past the dully decorated shops and arrived at their gate. Kazakov was busy arguing with an unsuspecting flight attendant with Elizabeth and Bethany trying to calm him down while Rat had chosen the seat as far away from Dante, who was reading a newspaper in Russian. With the others distracted, Lauren was the only one who noticed two rough looking men walking towards the smoking room; mobiles in hand. She followed them, staying a couple meters behind until she ducked behind a malnourished plant. She strained her ears to hear what was being said on the other side of the tainted glass. The men spoke in Russian and from what Lauren could gather, they were arguing.

"You've got to be kidding." One hissed.

"It's flawless!" The other retributed.

"We bring Slatkin the arms and use them to kill the bastard!"

"No way. Didn't you hear about what happened with Iakov?"

Lauren now had her ear pressed up against the translucent glass panel of the smoking room. She could see the silhouette of one of the men walk up to the other as silence returned.

"Coward."

"What did you call me?"

"You're _weak_."

Silence.

"Fine. But your plan had better be as fucking perfect as you say."

Lauren listened for a few more seconds but decided that hanging around to hear the two Russians bragging about their sex lives was less than inviting. She quickly made her way back to the group where Kazakov had finally moved away from the stewardess and was currently telling an unenthusiastic Rat about the dangers of listening to modern music.

"All these random words and screaming people who I can't tell if boy or girl. Why do the males look so..." He mimed the body shape of a woman with his hands as Rat looked towards Elizabeth for help.

"And the men! Are they men? That thing. The thing with the hair like dead squirrel. Juicy Bees? Juicy Beaver? I don't care. It looks like pubic hair of monkey and sounds like woman in childbirth."

Elizabeth had told Lauren to forget what she had heard until they were off the plane, seeing as though the flight wasn't in danger and there was no point in worrying. Lauren had Dante on her right and Elizabeth, who had her dozing head resting on the window, to her left. Kazakov, Rat and Bethany sat in the row in front of them, Kazakov also asleep but in a far less graceful way than the other adult on the mission. Lauren wasn't sure whether he was snoring or imitating a dinosaur.

It took the best part of half an hour for the plane to take off and the seemingly inhuman snoring to stop. Lauren was listening to Avenged Sevenfold with Dante when she noticed Bethany and Rat get up and walk towards the back of the almost empty plane, where the bathrooms were located. Dante had also noticed and tried to put his arm around her. Lauren shook him off and closed her eyes, causing Dante to become unsure of whether she was tired or crying.

"Shh!" Rat hissed as Bethany began giggling. Rat was leaning against the wall as he watched Bethany undoing her buttoned shirt.

"You too.." She slurred as her hands reached out to his belt. Rat quickly grabbed Bethany's wrists and led her grasp back to his upper body.

"Take it off." She said, stepping back. Rat opened his mouth, then closed it again. He was thinking of Lauren.

"What's up?" Bethany asked, her green eyes glazing over in suspicion.

"You're not thinking of _her_, are you?"

Rat shook his head in answer to the question and slid his shirt off.

Bethany grinned as she slid her bra onto the floor. "Better."

It had been a while since Rat has kissed anyone, including Lauren. He had always found her prudish and a little stuck up and now he had a relatively hot girl, shirtless, in front of him. He pushed all his morals out of his mind and grabbed Bethany by the waist, pulling her towards his chest. As she stood on her toes the two CHERUBs heard a loud knock on the door. It was one of the men Lauren had heard earlier. Albert was a 58 year old ex-soldier with a large, distinctive tattoo down his left arm. He had found it hard to get a job after he had been dishonarably discaharged from the army. Slatkin had hired him as a body guard at first but he had been promoted to errand running after five years of loyal service. He had never settled down with a family and absolutely hated anyone under the age of twenty five.

"Get the fuck out!" Albert spat as he slammed his fist into the door. His limited patience had led him into unleashing a string of Russian obscenities at the door in an attempt to get the occupants to leave. Inside, Rat and Bethany were both panicking and laughing.

"GET OUT!"

Rat quickly opened the door and pulled Bethany out with him.

"Wait!" she spluttered. "My bra's still-"

"Just hurry." rat replied, not wanting to get in the way of the huge Russian who stood outside the bathroom. As Bethany continued to do up her shirt, Dante was practically freaking out since Lauren had seemingly fallen asleep on his shoulder. He distracted himself by watching rat and Bethany as they sat down in their seats, flushed and breathing heavily. He glared at Rat, hating that Lauren still harboured feelings for him. Dante closed hs eyes and tried to sleep, but the warmth of Lauren's head on his shoulder was too distracting. He calmly turned his head and kissed her on the cheek. He decided that he had to take her from Rat.

The six agents had been met by a former member of MI6, who was taking them to their new home. He explained that they had to be cautious, since Slatkin was a paranoid man.

"The mission will progress slowly." Elizabeth added.

"Don't get impatient, and try not to fight amongst yourselves."

As the seven agents walked down the iced pavement, Lauren started to think about her new environment. Russia was cold. Not the kind of cold she was used to, but that kind of freezing temperature that makes you wish you could bathe in ice to warm up. The ex-MI6 agent led the six to their car and wished them luck as they started the drive to the train station that would lead them to their new neighbourhood. After nearly a day of travel, Elizabeth stopped the car outside a gate and woke the sleeping CHERUBS up.

"Fucking hell..." was all Rat could manage. The building looked modern with four stories and a massive front lawn. Ther was a garage and what looked to be a treehouse in one of the larger oak trees that stood to the side of the house.

"it's 6000 square feet." Elizabeth stated calmly. There's an indoor pool in the back and a gym below. There's also a games room. There are two large bedrooms on the third floor which you four will be staying in. Kazakov and I will take the second floor."

She opened the double front door which led to a huge foyer which opened onto the living room and the kitchen. There was a library on the second floor with the games room, two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a study. The pool and gym were in the basement. The four CHERUBs ran upstairs as Kazakov began foraging for alcohol. The MI6 agent informed Elizabeth that he was staying in a flat near Roza's and Vadik's school to keep an eye on the business taking place. As he left, Elizabets began nagging Kazakov to 'be a man and take in the luggage.'

The four CHERUBs had made their way up to the third floor of their new home and were running around the various corridors. "I want this room!" yelled Bethany who was standing in a massive bedroom overlooking the back garden.

"Then I'll have this one." Dante walked into the room two doors down from Bethany, followed by Lauren.

"Can I stay with you?"

"Yeah, sure, I mean.. Yeah. If you don't... I don't... Mind... You... Staying... If that's... Uh... Ok..."

Lauren laughed and sat on the bed closest to the window.

"So, as I was saying earlier." Kazakov announced as the six ate dinner. "The music today is shit. Who is the thing that screams a lot? The one named after pretty blonde woman with small eyes. The actress."

"Marylin Manson?" Lauren answered, only half listening.

"It looks like zombie Angelina Jolie and sounds like orgasming smoker."

Kazakov had barely finished his sentence when the group heard a bang. The kind of bang CHERUBs are trained to look out for. Kazakov hurried the CHERUBs out of the house as Elizabeth began making frantic calls to Zara.

"We should go check it out." Dante said to no one in particular. Kazakov ran down the frosted streets with the four teenagers behind him and Elizabeth talking to Zara a couple meters behind. Arriving at a huge mansion at the edge of a corner on the road, the CHERUBS looked on as Slatkin stood before two bloodied bodies, an AK47 and a pistol in his hands.

"Ублюдки!" he yelled, kicking the closest body to him. The large figure turned towards Kazakov and his group with a sinister smile spread across his face as he exclaimed what seemed to be a greeting in Russian.

"Ah! You must be the new neighbours I've heard so little about! Why not come in for a while?"


	6. Character Biographies and Other Info

**Character Biographies and Other Information**

**This is here solely for the purpose of explaining who people are. I'll also add details such as the layouts of both family's houses. xx**

Name: Martin Slatkin

Birthdate: 14.11.1961

Age: 48

Height: 184cm (6")

Weight: 77kg (170 lbs)

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Dark brown

Style: Dark colours and army style clothing

Spouse: Evgeniya

Children: Roza, Vadik, Nina, Feodor, Milena; all from second wife

Occupation: Mafia boss, businessman and dealer

Ethnicity: Russian

Skills: Almost perfect aim, good with guns and weaponry, natural leader, can fight

Dislikes: Disobedience, spies

Likes: Money, power

Notes: Very work focused. Not very empathetic; does not pay much attention to his children.

.

Name: Evgeniya Slatkin

Birthdate: 23.07.1981

Age: 29

Height: 162cm (5ft 4")

Weight: 55kg (121 lbs)

Hair: Natural red, dyed blonde

Eyes: Blue

Style: Typical trophy wife. Couture jumpsuits and obnoxious clothing

Spouse: Martin Slatkin

Children: None

Occupation: Housewife

Ethnicity: Russian

Skills: None in the slightest

Dislikes: Children, being ignored, cheap things, stress, crowds

Likes: Herself, money, relaxing

Notes: Only gets on with Roza, and even then, their relationship is tolerable at best. Only married Martin for financial support but has no intention of leaving him. Knows very little about her husband's work and does not care. Evgeniya is Slatkin's third wife.

.

Name: Roza Slatkin

Birthdate: 02.06.1993

Age: 17

Height: 176cm (5ft 9")

Weight: 60kg (132 lbs)

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Blue

Style: Styled but tomboyish

Spouse: Would label herself as a 'free spirit'

Children: None

Occupation: Student. Also takes part in her father's business

Ethnicity: Russian

Skills: Sweet-talker, good fighter, intelligent

Dislikes: Loud people, Feodor, disobedience

Likes: Milena, Vadik, being in control

Notes: Easily the most powerful if not popular girl in her year, Roza usually has a pack of both girls and boys surrounding her for no particular reason other than the fact that she's pretty and admirable. Is not afraid of the people she meets during business but resents the fact that Milena was kidnapped. Actually very sweet but can come across as proud.

.

Name: Vadik Slatkin

Birthdate: 07.02.1994

Age: 16

Height: 180cm (5ft 11")

Weight: 65kg (164 lbs)

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Dark brown

Style: Grungy but messy

Spouse: None

Children: None

Occupation: Student

Ethnicity: Russian

Skills: Being annoying, fighting, is very aware of surroundings, quick reflexes

Dislikes: Feodor, Nina, Evgeniya, annoying people, overly confident people

Likes: Winning arguments, Roza, his father (though he'll never admit it), inventing

Notes: Despite being pushy to some of his younger siblings, Vadik does not mind letting his older sister take charge. Enjoys taking part in his father's work.

.

Name: Nina Slatkin

Birthdate: 12.05.1995

Age: 15

Height: 160cm (5ft 3")

Weight: 49kg (108 lbs)

Hair: Dirty blonde

Eyes: Brown

Style: Dungarees and practical clothing

Spouse: None

Children: None

Occupation: Student

Ethnicity: Russian

Skills: Good listener, observant

Dislikes: Vadik, science, work in general

Likes: Feodor, relaxing, Milena

Notes: Despite not being the most friendly person, Nina has a couple close friends at school. She doesn't do that well in academic subjects but is very good at music and art. She distances herself from her family. Is a few hours older than Feodor.

.

Name: Feodor Slatkin

Birthdate: 12.05.1995

Age: 15

Height: 164cm (5ft 4")

Weight: 55kg (121 lbs)

Hair: Blonde

Eyes: Brown

Style: Follows trends. Mainstream brands

Spouse: None

Children: None

Occupation: Student

Ethnicity: Russian

Skills: Constructing things

Dislikes: Vadik, Evgeniya, Roza, being told off, being ignored

Likes: Nina, praise, video games

Notes: Feodor is the most immature of the five Slatkin siblings. He is a few hours younger than his twin but acts a few years younger. He sulks a lot but is surprisingly not that unpopular at school. Doesn't know how to talk to girls. Has no aptitude for his father's business.

.

Name: Milena Slatkin

Birthdate: 28.10.1996

Age: 13

Height: 150cm (4ft 11")

Weight: 43kg (95 lbs)

Hair: Blonde

Eyes: Blue

Style: Pastel colours, ruffles, feminine clothing

Spouse: None

Children: None

Occupation: Student

Ethnicity: Russian

Skills: Good listener, kind, caring, intelligent

Dislikes: Men, loud people, arguing, aggressive people, violence

Likes: Roza, Nina, learning, books, nature, animals

Notes: A very shy, quiet girl. Her small frams gives her the appearance of being weak, and she attracts unwanted attention from both bullies and men. When she was 11, Milena was kidnapped by a rival gang and held for ransom. She was emotionally scarred from that experience and finds men absolutely terrifying. Fond of her father.

.

Name: Yvette Slatkin

Birthdate: 23.01.1965

Hair: Blonde

Eyes: Blue

Spouse: Martin Slatkin

Children: Roza, Vadik, Nina, Feodor, Milena

Occupation: Housewife, mother

Ethnicity: Russian

Notes: Martin's second wife and the mother to all his children. Objected to her husband's business in 2002 and left. Has had no contact since.

.

CHERUB Russian profiles

.

Name: Maxim Gordieva (Gregory Rathbone)

Birthdate:1993 (Real Birthdate: 1994)

Age: 17 (Real age: 16)

Height: 180cm (5ft 11")

Hair: Dark Brown

Eyes: Green

Spouse: None (Lauren)

Occupation:Student (CHERUB agent)

Ethnicity: Half Russian, half American (Australian)

Skills: High IQ, good fighter

Parents: Larisa Gordieva and Rurik Gordieva

.

Name: Alisa Gordieva (Bethany Parker)

Birthdate: 1994

Age: 16

Height: 170cm (5ft 6")

Hair: Dark brown

Eyes: Green

Spouse: None

Occupation: Student (CHERUB agent)

Ethnicity: Half Russian, half American (British)

Skills: Karate, judo

Parents: Larisa Gordieva and Rurik Gordieva

.

Name: Eva Gordieva (Lauren Adams)

Birthdate: 1995 (Real Birthdate: 1994)

Age: 15 (Real Age: 16)

Height: 167cm (5ft 5")

Hair: Blonde

Eyes: Grey-blue

Spouse: None (Rat)

Occupation: Student (CHERUB agent)

Ethnicity: Half Russian, half English (British)

Skills: Fast reflexes, strong upper-body strength

Parents: Karen Gordieva and Rurik Gordieva

.

Name: Isaak Gordieva (Dante Welsh)

Birthdate: 1993 (Real Birthdate: 1994)

Age: 15 (Real Age: 16)

Height: 178cm (5ft 10")

Hair: Red

Eyes: Blue-grey

Spouse: None

Occupation: Student (CHERUB agent)

Ethnicity: Half Russian, half English (British)

Skills: Natually strong and can be very smart

.

Name: Rurik Gordieva (Yosyp Kazakov)

Birthdate: 1959

Age: 51

Height: 181cm (5ft 11")

Hair: Grey-black

Eyes: Dark grey

Spouse: Larisa Gordieva (None)

Children: Maxim, Alisa, Eva and Isaak (son who is not in touch)

Occupation: Businessman, dealer, gang leader (CHERUB instructor)

Ethnicity: Russian (Ukrainian)

Skills: Strong, level-headed

.

Name: Larisa Gordieva (Elizabeth Donald)

Birthdate: 1965

Age: 45

Height: 173cm (5ft 8")

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Hazel

Spouse: Rurik Gordieva (None)

Children: Maxim and Alisa (None

Occupation: Housewife (FBI agent)

Ethnicity: American (English)

Skills: Level-headed, intelligent, adaptable


	7. Contact

**Contact**

_**All credit goes to Robert Muchamore who created these characters and CHERUB.**_

TN: 'Приятно с вами познакомиться!' means 'Nice to meet you!'

For those who may not remember, Albert was the one who intruded on Rat and Bethany's 'quality time'.

"Don't look so concerned!" Slatkin announced, slamming his blood splattered Timberlands against the immaculate coffee table.

"I just assumed you were used to these sorts of things, eh, Rurik?"

Lauren sat to the side of Kazakov, who's eyes were steadily fixed on the gleaming black pistol resting on Slatkin's lap. Rat sat next to Bethany on Lauren's left and it seemed as though the two of them were completely engrossed in their chat. Dante had gone to the bathroom upon entering the mansion and was currently installing a minuscule camera and microphone in the hall. He was crouching down by the radiator, fixing the camera in place when he heard a low growl. A massive husky stood at the other side of the hall, a vicious expression curled on its face. Dante stood up calmly, knowing not to act afraid and walked back to the living room where silence had governed for the last five minutes. The husky ran into the room, nearly flooring Dante in the process, and settled beside Slatkin who was still watching Kazakov's movements. Dante sat on the sofa next to Lauren who had a fixed expression plastered onto her features.

"So, Slatkin." Kazakov started over the quiet. "We only got here today; how did you know who we were?"

Slatkin roared with laughter before responding in Russian.

"I like to be thorough."

"Well," Kazakov started, "so do I. How are your daughters? Roza, Nina and Milena? And your sons Vadik and Feodor? I heard there's been a little trouble at school concerning Vadik's grades; I assure you it's just his age."

Kazakov paused and glanced up from his inspection of the ornately designed wooden figures standing in the middle of the table. Slatkin was looking straight at him, chuckling slightly. The Russian man sat up and waved his hand towards the huge double staircase opposite the front doors.

"Adult talk now." He remarked, indicating he wanted the four young CHERUBs to leave. As they began their ascent up the navy marble steps, Slatkin shouted for Milena, Feodor and Vadik. Lauren heard light footsteps and raised her gaze to see a pretty, small blonde girl trot down the stairs. Milena was below average height, had collar-bone length blonde hair, blue eyes and a slender, timid frame.

She addressed her father in Russian and was told to bring the two girls to her room. As the three reached the first floor's landing, two boys erupted out of their rooms and sprinted towards the staircase.

The taller boy, upon noticing Bethany's attention on him, slowed down and brushed past her as he made his way towards the kitchen, much to the annoyance of his younger sibling.

Reemerging with three cokes, Vadik told the male CHERUBs to follow him to his room.

"Hey!" Feodor snapped, disliking the lack of attention. "What about me?"

Before Vadik could spit out an insult, Slatkin shot the teens a 'get the hell out of my territory' look.

The second door to the right of the landing was Vadik's room, which was 12m by 10m and gaudily decorated. Feodor sulked in the corner of the room, all the time giving his brother a scornful stare.

"What the fuck do you want, loser?" Vadik proclaimed as he threw a neglected schoolbook at the 15-year-old, obviously making an effort to look cool in front of his visitors.

Feodor frowned and uttered some objections in Russian before Dante spoke up.

"What's your room like?"

Feodor's face lit up as he spouted some excited nonsense about how he had the best room ever and that they should leave his pissy brother alone. He led Dante to the furthest room to the right of the staircase, leaving Rat and Vadik by themselves to discuss how irritating their younger siblings were. Vadik leaned back against the oak bedpost and ran his hand through his hair in the hope to appear sexy and confident. Rat flinched at the obvious display of narcissism but resisted making a snide comment and instead brought up the typical topic of music and girls.

Feodor's room was slightly smaller than his older siblings but it was filled with Lego, clay and half-finished machine models. Dante cautiously stepped over the small plastic bricks, knowing the pain they could cause. Feodor was rummaging through a huge coloured box at the far corner of the room near a large window.

"Do you like making things?" He gushed, placing multiple cases of glue and various black and silver parts on the floor.

"I love creating things, I made all the figures in my room. My name's Feodor, by the way. What's yours?"

"D-Isaak." Dante cursed himself for the slip-up.

"Wanna help me finish an aeroplane, Isaak?" Dante let out a sigh as his mistake went unnoticed by his target. As the two boys began assembling microscopic shards of metal, their fathers were engaged in a discussion about transportation and discipline.

"I find it easier to go by train." Slatkin announced, pouring more alcoholic liquid into a decorated flask. "There's hardly any security and there's lots of space."

Kazakov considered this. He had only been in the mansion for a quarter of an hour and he already had information that could at least cap the amount of weaponry and drugs being delivered across the region.

This made him nervous. Either Slakin was chatty when drunk, or he was being tricked.

"What about you, Rurik?" Slatkin slurred, eyes only half open.

"That's classified information." Kazakov remarked, hoping he had answered correctly.

Slatkin smiled.

"I like cautious people. They're more professional. Tell me, how large is your gang?"

It was Kazakov's turn to smother a smile as he began the revised explanation of his 'gang'.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Lauren and Bethany were seated at a dainty crystal table in the centre of a room decorated in its entirety in pastel colours and soft toys.

Bethany avoided Lauren's accusing gaze as she and Milena chatted away about the journey to Russia.

'_What's she doing?!'_ Lauren asked herself._ 'Milena's MY target, what's she trying to achieve?' _

Lauren shot another glare at Bethany, who returned the look as Milena started a new conversation.

"What are your names?"

"Eva." Lauren smiled at the young girl as sweetly as she could.

"Alisa." Bethany recoiled slightly at the smile, much to the subtly annoyance of the blonde CHERUB.

"Приятно с вами познакомиться!" Milena chirped, happy to have met some new people.

The blonde carried on in Russian, "I'm really glad you moved in. I don't know a lot of people, maybe we can be friends?"

Lauren suppressed her urge to hug the bashful girl and instead assured her that she would love to be friends.

As Milena was about to thank Lauren, Slatkin's drunken voice echoed across the corridor, calling for the visitors to leave.

The Slatkin siblings said goodbye to the CHERUBs who congregated in the foyer as Kazakov and Slatkin finished off their conversation.

On the way across the expansive front yard, the five agents passed the still bodies of the two men who had wronged Slatkin earlier. Lauren recognised them as the people from the airport smoking room, and Bethany and Rat recognised one of them as the guy who interrupted them on the plane. What none of the agents noticed was Bethany's bra tucked into Albert's coat pocket.


	8. Pillow Fights and Friendzones

**Pillow fights and Friendzones**

**_CHERUB belongs to Robert Muchamore. _**

BRING ON THE OTP FLUFF.

Elizabeth was waiting for the five agents back at their own mansion and was ready with her laptop to jot down any specks of information they might have picked up on. Dante reported the bug he planted in the ground floor hallway and Lauren on the identity of the two men who had been killed by Slatkin. The four CHERUBs went to their respective rooms while Kazakov went on to Elizbeth about his progress with the mafia leader.

'What an interesting pillow.' Dante thought, all too aware of the fact that Lauren was changing behind him. 'Wow. How... Interesting.' The red-head cursed himself for being socially awkward and was so distracted in keeping his mind off the girl he liked that he didn't notice her until she tapped his shoulder.

"Holy shit!"

"Oh! Sorry Dante, did I scare you?"

_'Way to look manly, idiot.'_ Dante told himself, blushing slightly at Lauren's cute polka dot pyjamas.

"Nah, I'm fine. Um... You, uh, look, um, cute and... Yeah."

_'Dammit, I sound like a bloody twat.'_

Lauren smiled at the compliment, making Dante redden even further and turn his head away in embarrassment.

"I'll, uh, get changed." He said, finding an excuse to hide his blush.

Lauren decided to inspect the many shelves above their new computer and radio, finding some Led Zeppelin, Nirvana and The Verve.

"Are you tired?" Lauren asked, still facing the wall.

"Not really. Wanna watch a movie or something?"

Dante complimented himself on managing to form a complete sentence.

"Hmmm... How about I kick your ass in a pillow fight?" Lauren grinned to herself as she heard her friend laugh.

"You're going _DOWN_, Adams!"

Lauren turned around in time to dodge a sneak attack by Dante, who had hastily grabbed a cushion off his bed.

"Cheat!" Lauren sang, jumping onto her bed and flinging a pillow at Dante's chest. She seized another and jogged across the room giggling, followed closely by a laughing Dante. Her grin widened. There had been a bit of an awkward tension between them since their kiss and she was happy that they could act normal again.

Lauren paused for a moment, realising she had gone red. Bright red. Hiding behind her pillow, Lauren jumped onto Dante's double bed and started jumping, throwing her pillow up and down and calling for a bounce fight.

Dante looked up at the blonde.

She was flushed, smiling, giggly and happy. Her azure eyes shone as she chimed battle cries and laughter. Lauren had never looked so perfect.

Dante stared for a second, trying to etch the moment into his memory. A pang of guilty realisation constricted his chest.

They were friends.

Just friends.

But Dante didn't care. If he could make her happy, he would do it. Leaping up onto his bed, Dante gently thumped Lauren's waist with his pillow. The two carried on like that, jumping and hitting each other childishly until both teenagers were red and panting for breath despite their fitness.

"What... Should we do now?" Dante asked in between breaths.

"I'm still not tired." Lauren stated, kneeling down.

Dante grinned.

"Let's build a pillow fort!"

For the next half hour, the CHERUBs set about constructing the ultimate castle in front of their TV. Eventually, after using both duvets, blankets and a ridiculous number of pillows, Lauren and Dante finished their lair.

Lauren dove under the covers of the new creation in their room and flipped the TV channels until she found a Russian comedy show. It was 11 O'clock and the air was nearing 0°C. Lauren shivered under the cool touch of white fabric and shifted slightly to get closer to Dante.

Dante's thoughts drifted back to when they were in the shed during the thunder storm. Again, his chest suddenly constricted.

It hurt him to be so close yet so far away from Lauren's heart.

x-x-x

"Jesus, Bethany, can't you do that somewhere else?!" Rat snapped at his roommate, immediately regretting the decision to stay with a girl.

Bethany shrugged and continued painting her nails on her bed.

"You're gonna spill it." Rat commented, eyeing the precarious position of about four different bottles of the pungent chemical.

"And can you please turn down that shit music?"

"Hey!" Bethany turned to face her roommate. "Rhianna is _NOT_ 'shit'. She's got _such_ a good voice!"

Rat groaned and muttered something about women being troublesome as more sounds of laughter filtered under the door.

Bethany smirked.

"Looks like _someone's_ having a good time."

Rat frowned and decided to ignore his fake sister.

"Wonder what they're doing."

"Shut up, Bethany."

"I told you what happened when they got stuck out in that storm."

_'Well, I sort of told you what happened.'_ Bethany told herself, giggling as she remembered the look on Rat's face as she told him.

Rat considered this as Bethany finished with her bottles and carefully began fanning her hands around her head while humming to Disturbia.

Rat laughed, "You look like one of those singers on X-factor, you know, the divas who get really into themselves."

Bethany stuck out her tongue and burst into a complete rendition of the pop song, purposely going completely out of tune. Rat faked dying and the atmosphere lightened.

A few minutes passed and once Bethany was sure her nails were dry, she walked over to the bed closest to the window. Rat saw her in his peripheral vision but kept his eyes on his iPod.

"Hey, Rat." Bethany purred into his ear, running a hand up his back.

"Hi." Rat replied, monotonous and devoid of any indication of interest.

Bethany lay on her side, gazing at Rat until he frowned at her and asked her what she wanted.

"Let's have fun."

Rat couldn't deny that Bethany was attractive, but he still had some loyalty to his girlfriend despite her kissing her best friend and doing whatever they were doing in their room.

Rat thought back to when Lauren had pushed Dante out of the way instead of him, which helped.

When she had tried to explain but he had ignored her.

Rat suddenly felt guilty and pushed Bethany off his bed and climbed under the sheets, trying to clear his mind.

_'What do I think of all this? What should I think?'_

"Rat? You're not going to sleep, are you?"

"'Night."

Bethany sighed, turned off her music, grabbed their laptop and began procrastinating on the sleep she probably needed.

Meanwhile, in the other room, Lauren had fallen asleep. Dante watched her features rise and fall with her slow, steady breath for a while. Standing up, the CHERUB gathered some sheets, pillows and a duvet and reformed Lauren's bed before carefully picking her up and carrying her over. He did the same with his bed and was about to climb in when he succumbed to his selfish crush on his friend and quietly walked to her. Leaning down, his breath just dusting her cheeks, Dante whispered, "I love you."

Sometimes, when you're extremely tired, you're unable to move. You're essentially asleep, but you can hear things.

As Dante returned to his bed, Lauren's cheeks pinked at the confession.

She had heard.


	9. New Environment

Chapter 8

Spot the subtle and somewhat pathetic Star Wars joke.

Thank you to my kouhai, Ana, for reminding me to write this fic :3

**New Environment **

Lauren groaned as she forced her arm out of the warmth of her bed and into the freezing air to shut her alarm clock up. The agents had arrived two days ago and today, a typical rainy and windy Monday, the CHERUBs were expected to go to school.

Lauren turned over to see Dante's leg edging closer to the floor. There was a light thud as his lower half hit the cool carpet with his head and arms still underneath the covers.

Lauren laughed a little at the peculiar sight.

A muffled greeting made its way out from the redhead's mouth. Lauren leapt out of bed and over to the radiator, thanking herself for putting her new uniform there the night before.

The uniform consisted of a white long-sleeved button-up shirt, a navy pleated skirt with the school logo printed on in gold at the left hip, thick black tights, a V-neck navy jacket that flared at the bottom and had golden roses as buttons, a black beret and navy buckle shoes. The male uniform was similar, but had navy trousers instead of skirts and tights, boots instead of shoes and the jacket didn't swoop down at the collar. Lauren put on about seven undershirts before her uniform; it was mid-October and the temperature rarely surpassed 5°C.

As Dante finally woke up enough to limp over to his uniform, Lauren walked down the hall and into the bathroom, in which Rat was brushing his teeth.

There was silence for a while before Lauren decided to start a conversation.

"Does your school have a uniform?"

Rat shook his head and paused a little before answering.

"It's not private like the one you're going to. Are you walking?"

"Yeah; hopefully we'll catch Milena and the twins on the way."

Rat finished up and waved as he left, leaving Lauren to ponder what was going through her head. She had liked Rat for a while and was glad that she had finally met a guy who was different, but he didn't really make her happy. She couldn't relax around him. Lauren shook her head.

_'Concentrate on the mission!'_

A quarter of an hour later, the four CHERUBs were seated round the kitchen table on the first floor with Elizabeth cooking breakfast and Kazakov grumbling and half asleep. He wasn't really a morning person.

Elizabeth served him first, placing a plate with various high calorie food scattered across the porcelain circle.

Kazakov opened his eyes and frowned and grumbled something about war and the luxuries of today's youth.

Elizabeth told the instructor to shut up and carried on cooking as the CHERUBs rolled their eyes and thanked Elizabeth for stopping Kazakov before he started one of his lectures.

At eight O'clock, Lauren and Dante left the house to walk the mile to school. Rat and Bethany were being driven by Kazakov who intended to investigate the local bars and clubs for 'research'.

A couple of minutes into their walk, Lauren spotted a familiar trio of various shades of blonde and called out to them.

Feodor greeted Dante and set about introducing him to his pokerfaced twin sister, Nina.

Milena stood slightly further behind, too shy to say anything until Lauren struck up a lighthearted conversation as the five carried on.

Bethany stood with Rat at the gates of their new school. There were kids smoking outside and people arguing inside. Bethany strained her eyes for Vadik and once she had spotted him, ran off leaving Rat alone. He cringed at a group of boys spitting into the gutter.

_'Uncivilised morons...'_

The gradual sound of laughter crept up on the CHERUB and soon Roza and her friends turned the corner at the end of the road. Roza walked in the middle of the group, all eyes on the brunette as she strode towards school. It was twenty past eight, ten minutes before registration. Rat positioned himself on one of the tables and benches in the front courtyard, sitting on the table surface in his best 'cool' pose.

It was all a bit superficial but appeared to work on Slatkin's daughter, who walked over and engaged in a minute long staring competition with the new arrival. Rat smirked and greeted her.

"Who're you?"

"Maxim. Moved in two days ago."

"New kid, huh. Worried?"

"No, but they should be." Rat responded, tipping his head towards a group of teachers making their way to the main building.

Roza seemed to like Rat's attitude and told him to accompany her to the classrooms. Obviously the two had the same form and within minutes of entering the room, a fat, bald and angry looking man stomped in and slammed his folder on his desk. At CHERUB, this behaviour would have silenced the class but instantly the mass of teenagers began a chorus of mockery and jeers.

"What's wrong, Jabba? Are you going solo?"

"I bet his imaginary woman left him!"

"Watch out! He's got PMS!"

Rat decided to add to the insults as an attempt to gain a standing in class.

"Is he pregnant? Sure looks it."

This gained Rat a round of giggles from the people around him but his teacher didn't seem amused.

"HEY! I will not accept such behaviour, especially from new students! Get up and introduce yourself!"

Rat casually walked to the front of the class and began. He would never admit to it, but he was always nervous at times like these.

"I'm Maxim Gordieva, but call me Max."

Already, this earned a response.

"What if we don't?"

"I'll fuck your mom. Now shut your face, I'm talking."

Rat carried on making jokes and occasionally giving out pieces of information such as his age, family and interests.

"I like video games and hot girls."

The boys laughed as a few girls jokingly booed him. The teacher, seemed to give up disciplining his class and meekly gave his students worksheets as Rat took a seat next to Roza.

Bethany had gone though a similar introduction, flirting slightly as she pushed her arms together in an attempt to hold Vadik's attention. Bethany held in her laughter as she saw her target practically drool at the gesture.

_'This is going to be easier than I thought.'_

The CHERUB took a seat as close to Vadik as she could and spend the first period making eye contact and winking at the teen.

Over at the private school, it was already clear to Lauren that Milena wasn't a part of the class. Milena had explained that Lauren didn't have to talk to her in school and that she would understand if Lauren ignored her.

"What do you mean?" The CHERUB asked, concerned that the young girl looked petrified of going into her own classroom.

"The others... They don't like me and if you talk to me they'll ignore you!"

Lauren smiled. "I'd rather be friends with _you_, Milena!"

The class quickly noticed where Lauren's loyalties lay, and the two were soon shut out. They sat near the window and worked together during first period.

Dante was having a different experience in his class. Nina and Feodor introduced him to the class and due to Dante's above average height and frame, he quickly attracted a small crowd to him.

The twins and he sat in the centre of the room and worked with each other on the assignment set by their shrill teacher.

Kazakov entered the bar frequently visited by Slatkin and his children. There were barely any people inside but already the agent could already spot some deals and business going on. Kazakov sat on a torn leather armchair as he watched Slatkin emerge from a heavily locked door near the back of the room. Slatkin spotted his new neighbour and took the seat opposite, smiling as he lit an expensive looking cigar.

"Well," the Russian started, "Let's get to the point, shall we?"


End file.
